Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste

About

Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste is a natural history museum in Trieste, northern Italy. It contains several collections, including more than two millions botanical, zoological, mineralogical, geological, and paleontological specimens.

The museum was opened as a zoological museum in 1846 with the name "Gabinetto Zoologico Zootomico" and set in Palazzo Biserini in Piazza Hortis (ex Piazza Lipsia) in 1852, where it has coexisted with the Civic Library and the literary museums until 2010. In 1855, under the protectorate of Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the museum was renamed "Civico Museo Ferdinand Maximilian". Through many donations and as a result of several international expeditions (such as the Novara frigate ), the museum has developed a range of exhibits. While keeping a zoological address, it now has flora, geological, and paleontological specimens and a large library containing works in various languages.

In 2010, the museum moved to the new headquarters in via Cumano (entrance from via dei Tominz 4), next to Civico Museo della Guerra per la Pace Diego de Henriquez, which is part of an only museum centre.

Heinrich Koch - Honorary Director (1846–1852)

Adamo Simeone de Syrski - Director (1866–1876)

Charles de Marchesetti - Director (1876–1921)

Heinrich Koch - Honorary Director (1846–1852)

Adamo Simeone de Syrski - Director (1866–1876)

Charles de Marchesetti - Director (1876–1921)

Botanical collection contains over 1,500,000 specimens, including herbaria of vascular plant from Italy and, especially, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in addition to seaweed, moss, wood, seed, and fruit collections. All the sections have the name of the scientist who carried out the collection.

Zoological collections consist of several parts:

- a fish collection, that contains marine and freshwater fishes, mostly preserved in a liquid environment. The collection includes the Carlotta shark, a specimen of white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) fished in Kvarner Gulf in 1906, which is the biggest shark conserved in a European museum;

- a herpetological collection, that contains reptiles and amphibians from all over the world, especially from Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia ;

- an ornithological collection that contains over 5,000 specimens of 550 different bird species, including rarities such as New Zealand kākāpō, Mexican Quetzal, and New Guinea Birds of paradise.

- an entomological collection, that contains over 500,000 specimens from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Slovenia, and other European and extra-European places. This collection includes specimens of hypogean insects from Karst caves. The curator of the entomological collection is Andrea Colla.

Paleontological collections consist of a historic collection and new additions. The 19th century collection includes fish and leaf fossils from Bolca, Eocene specimens from Istria, and Late Cretaceous specimens from the Karst, such as fish and reptilian fossils from Komen ( Slovenia ). The collection also contains 300 fish and nine reptiles, including Carsosaurus marchesettii and Adriosaurus microbrachis. Among Quaternary specimens, the fossils from breccia di Slivia and the specimens of cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ) from Caverna Pocala (TS) are the most important. New addictions include fossils from Villaggio del Pescatore paleontological site. Among these, Antonio dinosaur, a specimen of Tethyshadros insularis dated 75 million years ago, is the most important exhibit of the museum.

The museum includes an exhibition hall referred to as human evolution. This hall contains the Lonche mandible, a human mandible dated 6400 years ago. It is the first archaeological evidence of a dental filling treated with some substance, in this case, beeswax.

Mineralogical collection includes thousands of exhibits, mostly from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy. In addition, core sampling from Grotta Pocala (TS) and Borgo Grotta Gigante are part of the collection.

Botanical collection contains over 1,500,000 specimens, including herbaria of vascular plant from Italy and, especially, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in addition to seaweed, moss, wood, seed, and fruit collections. All the sections have the name of the scientist who carried out the collection.

Zoological collections consist of several parts: